


December 10th: Calm And Bright

by NimueOfTheNorth



Series: Coffee and Tea [9]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, ProfilersForChristmas2018, terrorist threat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 17:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16937583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NimueOfTheNorth/pseuds/NimueOfTheNorth
Summary: Spencer had hoped his Christmas in London would be a little less stressful but there was no way he wouldn't help his lover protect Britain and its people.





	December 10th: Calm And Bright

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [FA_ProfilersForChristmas2018](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/FA_ProfilersForChristmas2018) collection. 



> **Prompt:** Stille Nacht
> 
> German version of Silent Night, the orginal Language. 
> 
> Link below has the german, the german phonetic, and english of song.
> 
> http://www.silentnight.web.za/translate/deu.htm
> 
> Additional note: The English version in this link is not a direct translation of the German original but a smoothed out version that fits the music and rhyme. (I don't mean to criticize the translation just want to explain why Spencer's partial translation given in the story doesn't match.)

Spencer cupped his cold fingers around the hot mug of coffee and inhaled the smell. He loved this blend but never bought it as it wasn't available in the US. It was a speciality from a small coffee roastery a few streets over from Finlay's flat, and his lover made sure there was always a fresh bag in the kitchen when Spencer came to visit.

He’d crawled up into one of the window seats in Fin’s living room and was staring out the window into the rainy morning outside. Sooner or later the cats would join him for some cuddles, they just hadn’t woken up enough to deign and move.

Spencer had woken up ridiculously early because his internal clock hadn't properly adjusted yet. The team had been hunting an UnSub along the west coast for two weeks when they finally caught him. Utilising the long flight home for as much paperwork as they possibly could, they still managed to get everything in place to start their Christmas vacation on the 22nd as planned, even if they'd worked until around lunch. Cruz had decided the team needed a break after a few especially stressful months and considering they'd been out on cases or on call for the last four years' holidays had put them on leave until the new year.

That had come down at the beginning of the month, and Spencer hadn't cared what plane tickets cost at that point, he'd known exactly where he wanted to be when he had Christmas properly off for once. So by the time they left the office, he was running through things he needed and could get done before his flight left. Morgan had thankfully given him a lift and had even stopped at the one store Spencer still needed to pick up one of Finlay's presents that had only arrived while they were on the case. Gift wrapping and suitcase packing left him just enough time for a shower, and some dinner before the taxi arrived to take him to the airport. He never slept well on commercial flights and had pretty much collapsed into Fin's bed once he got there yesterday.

It had been only late afternoon at that point which is why he was wide awake at 5 am.

"The view isn't all that pretty with our very British winter weather, you know," Fin said and stole Spencer's coffee mug even though he much preferred tea.

"But it's definitely not DC and seeing London outside the window makes me happy because it means I'm with you." Spencer didn't care that it sounded sappy, sometimes the truth was sappy.

Fin’s answering smile was an endearing mixture of sleepy and seductive. “Can I tempt you to come back to bed with me?”

"I don't know. You can tempt me into a lot of things, so maybe you should give it a try."

Their faces had already been so close together that it took nothing at all for their lips to meet. The kiss started slow and tender but then naturally grew into more as they properly reconnected after too long apart.

Spencer was just contemplating that an orgasm would easily let them both get some more sleep snuggled up under Fin's ridiculously comfy duvet when the phone started ringing. More worryingly, he could hear Fin's cell phone ring in the bedroom as well, which left little doubt about who was calling at such an early hour.

Even as Fin pulled away with a sigh, Spencer could see his sleepy lover being replaced by the hyper-focused Quartermaster.

"This is Q. I have Spencer Reid right beside me. Should I go to my office?"

Spencer got up and headed for the kitchen to put on the kettle and get more coffee for himself. Whatever this was about, they wouldn’t be going back to bed any time soon.

Finlay followed him. “We’re both listening, Sir, you’re on speaker.”

_ “Good morning Dr Reid, and welcome to London. My apologies for interrupting this early during your vacation,” _ Spencer heard M and wondered why he was included.

“Good morning, Sir. We all know the side effects of our careers. How may we help you?”

_ "I need Q at Vauxhall as soon as possible, and while I'm loath to discuss details until you get here, I believe your specific skill set could be largely beneficial in our current predicament if you are willing to help, Dr Reid." _

“As long as the legalities of me consulting with MI6 are out of the way, I’m at your service.”

_ “I will have that all sorted by the time you get here. Thank you, gentlemen.” _ The call disconnected and Spencer pulled the travel mugs out of the cupboard to pour their beverages into.

They both had plenty of practice getting ready on short notice at all hours of the day, and so it took a minimum of time for them to be out the door much to the displeasure of the feline masters of the household.

* * *

 

 

The guards at the entrance had directed them to Q branch which made them exchange worried looks. It was never a good sign when M came downstairs to brief his people instead of having them come to the comfort of his office.

When the elevator doors opened, there were more minions manning the various stations and more buzzing tension in the air than was normal for the end of a night shift. Letting his gaze sweep over the whole space once, it didn't take Spencer long to notice that they were mostly computer analysts focusing on various networks. If the threat was virtual, it was no wonder M wanted Q on it. He was MI6's best asset, that's why they had recruited him so heavily.

They joined M at Q's station, and Spencer watched his lover immediately turn towards the screens, seemingly dismissing his boss. M took it in stride, accepting that Q was just doing exactly what he had called him in for, and started to explain.

“Good morning, gentlemen. We’ve received reliable intel that a terrorist group is targeting most if not all infrastructure systems in the UK and plans to attack at some point today or tonight.”

“How did 007 get involved in this? He was on his way home after a thankfully unspectacular mission.” Q frowned at the combined transcripts of radio communications, chats and emails he was scrolling through on one screen.

"He was already on his way to the airport when he was approached by someone who still owed him a favour. The man had heard some vague chatter about this terrorist cell and their plans, and when he heard Bond was in town, he figured it might be good enough intel to pay off that debt. I had R and Tanner check into it, and they found confirmation, which is worrying as this group had pinged neither our nor MI5's radar so far. Given these circumstances, the branches decided to cooperate on this matter."

Q answered with a hum as he worked through ever more data of what his people had already done. “Do we have any confirmed target or do we still have to throw our net as wide as possible?”

"Electricity is the most likely for obvious reasons, but we can't rule anything out at this point."

“I had hoped for something more specific. If I can find the traces of their work in one system, I can then look for the same thing everywhere. The laziness of hackers can make countermeasures much more efficient. The system running our energy grid has much more access points than I’d like.” He said all that without looking up. Typing away on his keyboard.

Spencer kept waiting to be told what he was supposed to do because while he wasn't at all the technophobe, people thought him to be based on his preference for reading on paper, he didn't have the hacker skills to be useful to Q in this.

"Dr Reid, I've spoken to your superiors, and they are happy to loan us your services. Tanner was still sorting out the paperwork when I was coming down, but he'll bring it to you shortly."

Spencer waved it off. “It isn’t like I don’t trust you. So what would you like me to do?”

"As we haven't had eyes or ears on this group before today, I was hoping that you could take what little we have and might be able to uncover over the next hours, and try to put together a profile, especially a geographical profile." When Spencer opened his mouth to protest, M held up a hand. "I'm well aware of the limitations of profiling, and I don't expect any miracles. But right now we have no idea who we're looking for nor where to look for them, and we can't afford that. So if you could point us in certain directions, that would be a big help. As much as I trust Q's skills in the virtual world, this threat isn't truly over until the people responsible are in our custody. And I would very much like to tell Her Majesty that all her subjects can enjoy another peaceful and merry Christmas."

“I’ll do my best with the information available to me.”

“That’s all we’re asking. Good luck, gentlemen.” He gave them a curt nod and marched off to the elevators.

“You can use my office,” Q offered. “At least I don’t have to tell you what you can and cannot touch. Myles!”

"Yes?" A young man perked up at one of the workstations and trotted over at Q's beckoning.

"Get Dr Reid everything he asks for, then make tea and coffee, the good one from my cupboard. The rest of the day or however long this takes it is your sole duty to bring Dr Reid any and all new information we come across and make sure he gets anything he needs. Make sure there's plenty of paper in the printer as he reads much faster that way." At this point, Q looked up at Spencer.

“I’ve unlocked the computer in my office in a safe mode so use it for anything you need. I also sent everything we already have over there and Myles can show you where the printer is for you to start. I’ll be…” he gestured at his screens and was already back to them with half an eye.

“Protecting Queen and country,” Spencer finished his sentence. “I understand. I’ll be over there doing the same.” He strode off with Myles on his heels, writing down the things Spencer rattled off for a first supplies run.

Armed with maps, coffee and a steadily growing stack of printouts, Spencer made himself at home in Q's office trying to pinpoint down a group that had come so close to causing a complete breakdown of the UK without drawing anyone's suspicions onto themselves.

* * *

 

 

It was many hours later when Spencer left a sleeping Myles on Q’s sofa and strode out of the office to join the man himself at his station.

Q had found the backdoors the terrorists had built into the software of the vast majority of institutions and companies that enabled public life in the UK. Everything from Electricity over banks and emergency services down to the Royal Mail had been targeted, and malware put into place to destroy their data from the inside.

Seeing the nature and structure of the code used had helped Spencer recognise patterns in the documents MI5 had dumped into his lap around lunch after they’d raided one of the smaller offices used by the group that had not been quite as successful in covering their tracks when hacking. The overconfidence of criminals was often a gift for the investigators.

The patterns turned out to be a code of its own that revealed a hidden layer of communication underneath the more obvious while already encrypted communication Spencer had deciphered before. Both the information revealed by breaking this code and the very nature of the code itself had added vital information to Spencer’s profile and allowed him to narrow down the likely hideouts of the group.

Meanwhile, Q had written a program to destroy the virus that was waiting for its activation, and his minions had run it on all the infected systems. Q had gone in after them to shut all the backdoors while making it look like they were still in place until the terrorists had been apprehended. As every backdoor was unique to the system it was built into, Q had insisted on doing it himself, and Spencer had left him to it, double-checking that he hadn't overlooked anything on his end and helping to brief the units planning the takedown.

Walking back into the main area of Finlay’s territory he found the buzzing of computers and voices that had filled Q branch most of the day was greatly reduced.

“Where is everybody?”

"Sent them home. Their work was done, and they had been here too long already. They deserved some sleep. R stayed and brought the fresh nightshift up to date, but there's nothing really left to do for us."

Spencer pulled a chair over from an empty desk, sure that Fin wasn’t ready to go home yet. “Then why are you still staring at your screens?”

"I'm coordinating the takedown. I would have called you out here in a bit as well just in case they find any of those weird symbols you deciphered and need to know what they mean."

“Bond joined the units, didn’t he.”

“Yes, together with 002 and 006. Why?”

Spencer snorted. “You’re lucky I’m not the jealous type.”

Finlay’s frown amused Spencer even more.

"Fin, when's the last time Bond went onto a mission, and you didn't oversee it yourself?" Spencer leaned in close and spoke quietly enough so nobody else would hear them. He knew there were already plenty of rumours about the Quartermaster and his most troublesome agent, he didn't need to feed them.

“I don’t know. And why would that be important?”

“And people think I am clueless.” Spencer shook his head with a wry smile and pointed Q back towards his screens were the units were just heading out. He really wasn’t worried about the weird connection between Fin and Bond. He might not fully understand it, but he knew it was no threat to their relationship, and that was all that mattered.

It became a waiting game.

Q and Spencer sat in silence and watched as the various units confirmed their targets, secured surroundings, and got into position. The plan was to take all locations down at the same time to minimise the risks. Spencer could see on one monitor where Q was lingering on the edge of their network, ready to shut it down to cut off any last-ditch effort their hackers might have up their sleeves.

The order came down, and everything went fast and clean as one might wish for. The terrorists were so focused on their virtual endeavours that they had barely armed themselves, leading to very few shots fired.

The whole thing looked almost anti-climactic after the hours of frantic work to get there.

Q signed off and shut down his station which was Spencer’s cue to grab his things from the office and wake poor Myles up and send him to his own bed before he got a serious crick in his neck on the too short sofa.

Entering the elevator, Finlay didn’t hit the button for the garage but took them out the main entrance.

"I hope you don't mind. I'm too tired to drive, and I'd love to walk a few steps. We can easily catch a cab at this time of night."

Spencer just nodded his agreement and tucked his scarf more firmly around his neck. London wasn't any colder than DC at this time of year only less likely to get hit by freak snow storms. And a bit of fresh air sounded like a good idea.

They stood at the top of the stairs and just looked over the city as it sprawled out on the other side of the Thames. Fin linked his fingers with Spencer’s and then tucked them into Spencer’s conveniently large coat pocket.

“There she lies, peaceful, sparkling and sleeping. And the people of Britain have no idea how very un-merry their Christmas could have been.”

“You did a good job ensuring that it stays this way,” Spencer answered.

“ _ We _ did a good job, love. You were a tremendous help today. And it was kinda fun working with you even if I was too focused to properly enjoy it.”

“I liked working in your office.”

They smiled at each other and Finlay leaned up to give Spencer a chaste kiss until a gust of cold wind made him shiver. “Come on, let’s go home.”

They walked along streets more empty and quiet than one would ever expect those of a huge city to be.

“I often think that Christmas night is the most quiet night of all but hardly anybody notices,” Spencer said after a while.

“You could be right there. It’s only those who stay awake to watch over the rest, who can really appreciate the difference. The majority of people will wake up tomorrow to a boisterous Christmas Day with all the trimmings and have no idea how badly wrong things could have gone tonight.”

“And M gets to reassure the Queen that her subjects can ignore her Christmas speech in favour of food and presents like every year,” Spencer joked to lighten the mood.

“Exactly, but don’t forget the booze. That’s an important tradition, too!” Fin added and laughed.

Spencer stopped in front of a church. “Do you hear that?”

“What?”

“The music.” Spencer didn’t wait for Fin to agree and tugged him up the stairs and inside through the heavy doors.

Judging by his own very limited experience with religion, Spencer didn't think there was a mess in progress, but a choir stood in front of the altar, and there were a decent amount of people from all walks of life scattered through the pews.

“Spencer!” Fin hissed at him.

“What?”

“This is a Catholic church.”

“And? Churches are open to everyone, that’s never more true than on Christmas.”

Finlay held up their still joined hands and glared at Spencer, who just smiled and pulled him along to one of the empty pews at the back. Nobody paid them any attention.

The choir finished their current song to some polite applause and started a new one.

“Well, even I recognise  _ Silent Night _ when I hear it. Though the lyrics sound odd.” Finlay slowly relaxed at Spencer’s side.

“That’s because they’re singing the German version. It’s rather fitting in a way.”

“How come?”

“Roughly translated the first verse talks about how everyone is sleeping and only the holy couple alone is awake or are keeping watch, the words are a bit ambiguous. Then there’s a little boy whose arrival brings salvation for everyone… I just think there are a few parallels to the events of tonight if you look at it from the right angle.”

“Did you just compare us to the holy couple? Because I didn’t think you could consume enough caffeine to become delirious,” Fin whispered in Spencer’s ear.

“And Bond would be baby Jesus in this? Don’t be so literal, love, that would be ridiculous,” Spencer teased good-heartedly and turned his eyes back on the choir.

“This is longer than I remember it,” Fin murmured with his head on Spencer’s shoulder.

“The German original has six verses, the one normally sung in English has only three.”

“Ah.”

They stayed seated for another song, and Spencer let the voices and atmosphere wash the mindset of work away. When he felt Finlay go lax at his side re roused him.

“Come on. Let’s better find that cab you were talking about, we both need to get to bed.”

“Hmmm, I like the sound of that. I had plans for you and me in bed, you know, before we were so rudely interrupted.”

“I remember. And I’m all for those plans after we got our own well-earned peaceful sleep.”

“And pancakes. You promised me Christmas morning pancakes.”

“Pancakes and syrup and tea, three gifts like the wise men brought to Bethlehem.” Spencer couldn’t contain his amusement at the face Finlay pulled.

“Don’t be mean. I’m telling the cats about this - see if you get any more cuddles.”

“Oh please. Your cats adore me. And all the cuddles I really want are yours anyway.”

They got to start their Christmas Day much later than they had planned, but it was one of the best Christmases Spencer had ever had.

  
  



End file.
